Early Wednesday afternoon, a 15-passenger car train de-railed at Milepost 20, northeast of Skagway with 360 passengers aboard.

The derailment occurred at 1:55 pm when the train, owned and operated by White Pass & Yukon Route, was on its way to Fraser. Of the fifteen cars, four derailed. Of those four only three contained passengers. Injured in the accident were 19 passengers and three crewmen working for the train.

Two vintage locomotives also derailed.

All the occupants of the three cars were loaded into the other cars and returned to Skagway.

None of the injuries were critical and all were treated in Skagway, had the injuries been serious, the hurt would have been transported to the hospital in Juneau.

Homeland Security is investigating the cause of the crash and White Pass & Yukon Route has suspended all operations until the investigation is complete. The company hopes to be up and running by Friday.

The railroad has been in operation since 1899, but closed down for six years in 1982 and reopened in 1988 as the White Pass Route.

  accident, Alaska, derailment, injuries, locomotives, railroad, skagway, white pass